We are absolutely delighted to bring you this brand new footage. BEHIND THE LENS 4 is a 5 minute collection of favourite images over recent years. Worth mentioning in passing that it was two decades ago that we delivered BEHIND THE LENS 1!
This footage is a triple celebration.
- Best Wedding Hotel in the World, for the 4th time, via Haute Grandeur global hotel awards.
- Scotland's 2024 National Wedding Hotel of the Year, for the 15th time.
- And as a celebration of a decade working at Balbirnie House, Senior wedding planner Christine Lowe, through to 12th January 2024. Christine was married herself at Balbirnie House, and together with husband Jay, is the final bride in this footage. We thank Christine for a truly amazing contribution to Balbirnie's evolving history, and all the many years of dedicated heartfelt attention that goes into our ongoing delivery for flawless event planning. Evolution is always at the heart of all that we do, and Christine has been absolutely fundamental with visualising and delivering annual reviews and updates for all wedding literature. Our sincere thanks to our departing colleague.
Over the last couple of decades we have seen very significant changes with wedding photography. When I started at Balbirnie House back in 1992 the wedding photographer would normally conclude after the cake cutting at 4.45pm, job done!
From Balbirnie's perspective all of that previous changed with one single photograph, a late night autumnal shot taken by Rob Thomson of Lifetime Photography. When we received that photo by email that night for our Facebook update of the special occasion, it was an Oh My Goodness Me moment. Subsequently the photo gained very significant Facebook coverage. The photo features in this new footage at 1 min 35 secs. Today, we can now look back to that historic moment, and say, 'That's when things changed up a gear, one photographer truly considers the work of another, and so we began to see more and more night time photography'. So much so, that these days we have many wedding clients, wishing to get married in the winter months instead of summer, in order to enable these night photography capabilities as well.
In considering wedding photography, some people think that it is a simple matter of pointing a camera and click? To the contrary, it can be much more complex that that. What we have seen is a never-ending journey of Scotland's most incredibly talented photographers capturing the most beautiful and breathtaking moments and memories. Some of these photos have certainly been captured with total spontaneity. However many others have not. They have been have been the result of a very long timeline of contemplation. Perhaps an exact space in the many acres around Balbirnie House, contemplated in the summer, and kept on standby until the right weather and lighting conditions are reached in the winter. The photo itself, perhaps taking a long time for the lighting and equipment to be positioned (something that photographers can take time to prepare while the wedding party are having meal), and whilst that professional setup can take time, the happy couple only need to be in that right time and place later, and for a few seconds.
We have certainly found that most couple are absolutely delighted to set aside a few moments for such special pre-considered evening photography, but stating the obvious, most will quickly wish to re-join their wedding guests for the continuing celebrations. And that ongoing photography that follows, is natural and spontaneous, or as the posh word goes, it is called reportage, as opposed to staged!
Whilst working on a previous Behind the Lens, I can recall being about to finalise, but for one reason or another there was one final photograph we would absolutely have loved to include. We contacted photographer Stuart Craig, who immediately very kindly sent us over the original image, and we saw that the image itself was not digitally watermarked by Stuart, and therefore it was not possible to identify the photographer. We pointed this out, and Stuart's reply was 'Please feel free to use the photograph as it is!' The generosity of that very moment was another first for us, because it was the first time that a photographer had so very generously consented to their work being shared in the public domain, without being credited as the source.
A long time back, I can certainly recall that Balbirnie House was a first wedding destination to use Facebook, which back then for example only enabled 1 single image per occasion. We did write to Facebook requesting ability and space to add more! Our historic commemorative social media posts were usually a single image from a house camera. This then became multiple images via house camera. And then photographers began fast-processing final images (again, during the wedding meal), then fastrack sending the photos to us, so that we could post the professional shots on the night, with a direct credit to the photographers themselves. This has worked really well over the many years.
And never mind a single photographer back in the 1990's finishing at 4.45pm. The photos you are about to view, some of these have been the work of same company doubled up photographers both working for the same wedding until midnight!
Luck, chance, timing? All relevant of course, but as is always the case as well, the harder the photographer works, the luckier the photographer gets!
Our sincere thanks to one and all. A huge thanks to everyone in our wedding planning department, in retaining and collating all source images.
If for any reason there are any images which are not digitally watermarked, and photographers wish to highlight, please email me and I will add to credits below. [nicholas@balbirnie.co.uk]
It has always been such an honour to be involved in editing Behind the Lens over these many years. This time around, and the same as all previously, it has been something of an emotional rollercoaster. Made even more special by seeing the reactions of fellow Balbirnie work colleagues when they see the final results for the first time.
Here is the link through to YouTube:
BEHIND THE LENS 4 - ONE VERY SPECIAL DAY AT A TIME
All best wishes from Balbirnie,
Nicholas
MD Balbirnie House
Photographer credits:
Behind the Lens 4
Lifetime Photography
Makula Photography
Victoria Photography
NC Photography
Liana Mitrea Photography
Karolina Kotkiewicz Photography
Stuart Craig Photography
Jen Owens Photography
Martin Ward Photography
Carley Buick Photography
Derek Christie Photography
Forza Photography
Half Light Photography
Iris Art Photography
Marc Quinn Photography
Ryan White Photography
Photography 78 Photography
Photography by Emilie Photography
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